Winners & losers of AI slowdown

The AI trade is entering a new phase. Until now, investors worried about valuations, circular financing, soaring capex and whether massive spending on chips and data centres would eventually generate adequate returns. Now, the debate has shifted to the speed of AI development itself. That change is already creating unexpected winners and losers, as investors reconsider who benefits if the race for ever-larger frontier models slows. The consequences could also spill into the broader economy, where AI-related investment has become an important source of growth. Add surging energy prices, persistent inflation, geopolitical uncertainty and expensive borrowing, and the timing is hardly ideal. All this comes as the Fed gathers for a highly uncertain policy meeting, with markets heavily betting on a 25bp hike despite receiving no such promise from Kevin Warsh’s Fed. Listen to find out more! Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020, and launched her own website ipekScope.com in 2025.